Halftime Tune-Up Series

[Tweet “To move the needle on your business, you need to devote consistent focus.”]Did you set a goal for 2015? Did you set a bunch of different half-baked goals? Did your goal evolve as the year progressed? Dig out your list of resolutions. If you did set a concrete goal for 2015, have you been focusing your actions to make this goal a success? If you have a more casual list of resolutions, is that working out for you? Chances are, if you are juggling several ideas, your focus may be too divided.

Having a goal is just the first step. Knowing what actions to take to turn your intentions into reality requires that you break down the big hairy goal into smaller, bite sized tasks. You should be able to put three things on your to-do list each day that are specifically designed to move you forward. Your goal needs a plan. If you need a little assist with goal planning,please check out my awesome system.It’s what has kept me on track and helped me hit my mile markers this year.Here’s my list of New Years’ resolutions, and so far I’m on track to have a successful 2015. Will I get everything on that list done? Maybe not every single thing, but I know I will make significant progress toward my (fairly ambitious) objective of world domination.

How are your 2015 goals coming along? Sign up to be a Red Scorpio Insider, and get a free downloadable “Big Project Planner”, plus 15% off your first purchase.

Day 2: What are your numbers?

Do you know what I’m talking about? Your “numbers” are the money you spend running your business, the money your business brings in, and most importantly, the difference between the two. This is officially referred to as a profit & loss statement. The scariest question an entrepreneur must ask themselves is “What are my actual numbers?”

One thing that I’ve learned, in life not just business, is that ignoring scary stuff doesn’t make it go away. In fact, it usually makes it scarier, because it’s an unknown. It’s always less scary when you know stuff. And you can’t grow if you don’t know. I didn’t even try to rhyme there, so, bonus.

[Tweet “Do you know your numbers? If so, good for you! Knowing them puts you in control.”] If you don’t know them and need some help figuring it all out, here are some resources:

Figuring out your numbers is about as fun as filing your taxes, but it’s a vital step in growing your business, so, sorry but you’re going to have suck it up and get started. Good news, you only have to set it up once. You may be pleasantly surprised to know that you are doing okay, maybe even better than ok. If you crunch the numbers only realize that you’re not doing so well, at least take solace in the fact that with this information, you can start correcting your course to success.

Day 3: How did you get this far?

“You can’t manage what you don’t measure.” Have you heard that one before? It makes perfect sense. How do you know if you’re making progress if you’re not keeping track of what’s happening? How do you know how you got where you are if you don’t know what efforts are paying off and which ones are just a waste of your time?

After you get your numbers straightened out, check out yourkey performance indicators to figure out what is working and what is not. Entrepreneurs these days feel like they need to do everything and be everywhere on social media, but the fact of the matter is you only need to do what works. So, although it may take a little effort to figure out what is working and what is not, in the long run, you’ll save time by not doing things that aren’t moving you forward.

If you aren’t tracking your KPIs, it’s time to get started. If you sell on Etsy, you probably know that it keeps track of your stats. Did you also know Etsy has some amazing articles to help you grow your business? Google analytics is another amazing tool, and they have a free Analytics Academy to help you get the most out of it. If you have a WordPress blog, you can install plugins to track your analytics. Nathalie Lussier’s “30 Day List Building Challenge” explains how to build your list by using analytics, and she even walks you through the steps to set them up for your WP site.

You might be surprised how things ‘magically’ start to grow when you make the effort to measure their progress. Here is a list of resources to help you better understand what KPIs are and how to build your business. Please share your experiences in the comments!

Over the past few days, we’ve been looking back on the first half of the year and taking stock of the situation. Maybe you’ve been tracking these metrics since day one and already knew what was going on in your business. I suspect that most of us weren’t crystal clear on all of the details, myself included. Some of us might be pleasantly surprised with the findings. Others may be looking at our KPIs and wonder what the heck is going on. Running your own business is hard, and sometimes you can get so discouraged you might wonder what you were thinking by starting this in the first place.

I began making bamboo tile jewelry back in 2009. I was looking for an easy & fun project to teach in workshops at Party Arty!, the art studio my sister & I owned at the time. I fell in love with everything about these magnificent bracelets and necklaces, and spent many hours perfecting my process until it was no longer a craft project, but an art. I got lots compliments, and then requests for custom orders, so of course I took the next step and turned my jewelry making into a business. In 2012, I quit my job to work on it full-time. I was so sure that I would soon be making a living doing what I love, but here we are, almost three years later, and I am still struggling to make consistent sales. If not for my husband’s “real” job, I would have had to ditch this dream a long time ago. I’ve never worked this hard in my life, and for so little money. But I just have to believe that this work is going to pay off someday. I joke about getting famous, but all I really want is to be able to make a decent living.

I believe that my jewelry is beautiful, that it helps the wearer express themselves and tell their story, that it is a way to be connected. My “why” is my commitment to self expression, quality small batch goods, and creating an alternative to hyper-consumerism. And so, I keep on. Every day, my goal is just to move forward.

After looking back at the last six months, how are you doing? If you’re seeing measurable progress, awesome! This is the perfect time to refine your focus. You figured out what doesn’t work, so cut that out right now. Devote that time into ramping up the things that are working for you, or testing out (and measuring) a couple of new things.

If you’re not growing the way you’d hoped, go over this checklist. Figure out what you might need to start paying attention to so you can finish the year strong. 2015 is only halfway over, so there is still plenty of time to correct your course to success.